Governing Body Minutes - Selected Primary Schools

Summary

The requester sought governing body minutes for 11 primary schools covering the 2018-19 academic year and the autumn term of 2019-20. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture released the minutes but redacted personal information found within school improvement plans.

Key Facts

• Minutes were provided for 11 specific primary schools including Arbory, Ashley Hill, and Bunscoill Rhumsaa.
• The request covered the full 2018-19 academic year and the autumn term of 2019-20.
• Manor Park Primary School had no minutes for the summer term of 2018-19 as no meeting took place.
• Personal data within school improvement plans was redacted under Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act.
• The response was issued on 12 March 2021 following a request received on 15 February 2021.

Data Disclosed

• 1670529
• 2021-02-15
• 2021-03-12
• 2018-19
• 2019-20
• 11
• 82
• 9
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 8
• Section 25
• Article 5
• Article 6
• 28 February 2019
• 4 October 2018

Exemptions Cited

• Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation (data protection principles)
• Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation (conditions for lawful processing)

Original Request

I seek copies of the minutes of the meetings of the Governing Bodies for the 11 primary schools. The minutes requested are for all meetings held in the academic year 2018-19 and any meetings held in the autumn term of the 2019-20 academic year.

Data Tables (6)

Full Response Text

Corporate Services Division Department of Education, Sport and Culture Hamilton House Peel Road, Douglas IM1 5EZ Telephone: (01624) 685808 Website: www.gov.im/dec Email: dec@foi.gov.im Our ref: 1670529 12 March 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 15 February 2021 and which states:

"I seek copies of the minutes of the meetings of the Governing Bodies for the following primary schools: Arbory Primary School; Ashley Hill Primary School; Bunscoill Rhumsaa; Cronk-y-Berry School; Henry Bloom Noble School; Manor Park Primary School; Onchan Primary School; Peel Clothworkers' School; Rushen Primary School; Scoill yn Jubilee; Victoria Road Primary School. The minutes requested are for all meetings held in the academic year 2018-19 and any meetings held in the autumn term of the 2019-20 academic year."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have enclosed minutes of the meetings of the governing bodies for the following primary schools for the academic year 2018/19 and the autumn term of the 2019/20 academic year: Arbory Primary School 4 x minutes of meetings Ashley Hill Primary School 4 x minutes of meetings Bunscoill Rhumsaa 4 x minutes of meetings Cronk y Berry Primary School 5 x minutes of meetings Henry Bloom Noble Primary School 6 x minutes of meetings Manor Park Primary School* 4 x minutes of meetings Onchan Primary School 4 x minutes of meetings Peel Clothworkers’ Primary School 8 x minutes of meetings Rushen Primary School 4 x minutes of meetings Scoill yn Jubilee 4 x minutes of meetings Victoria Road Primary School 5 x minutes of meetings * Please note a Governors meeting did not take place at Manor Park for the summer term of 2018/19, therefore there are no minutes to disclose.

Redacted content

Some information received in relation to the school improvement plans contained personal information and under section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act (absolutely exempt personal information) is exempt and has therefore been redacted. The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • the Department is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • the Department is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to The Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Department of Education Sport and Culture can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met.

Please quote the reference number 1670529 in any future communications.

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If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Coordinator

1 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, SPORT & CULTURE ARBORY SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY MEETING 28 FEBRUARY 2019

Present:

In attendance:

Apologies received from (Co-opted Governor).

1. Confirmation of the minutes.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 4 October 2018, were approved and signed by the Chair of Governors.

1. Matters arising.

Forest School – This is now run by a private company. Year 2 will be taking part in two sets of 8 sessions from September. One of the Parents has offered to help with finance. PiP – the People information Programme – nothing more happened. Outdoor music area – has met with the Men in Sheds representatives and plans for this area are now progressing.

1. Headteacher’s Report.

This report had been sent out with the Agenda.
advised that we have had one Out of Catchment request. Staffing – With the predicted pupil numbers for September, Arbory will be loosing .3 of a Teacher as the number on roll will drop by 10.
advised that no members of staff will be lost, as the money will come out of the Teacher Workload budget instead. We have not received the SEN or Budget allocations for April yet. attended the Arbory School Public Speaking Competition which had been held recently, she advised that the competition had been excellent, the Governors wished to thank all the Teachers and (Parent) for working with all the children, and to and for judging the competition. Maths Mastery – has been hearing from other schools that they have appreciated the time spent by Arbory Teachers helping them with Maths Mastery.

1. Finance up-date.

The December Budget Summary had been given out with the Agenda, and the January 2019 Budget Summary was handed out.
The limit of £500 is still in place for ordering items, if the order goes over £500 we have to obtain 3 quotes. A new waiver form has just been sent out, and an e-mail just received from the Department advises that everyone has to complete the Financial Governance Foundation Course even the Ancillaries.

will have to complete the Budget Holders – Managing Public

2 Money and the General Procurement Training as well.

1. Curriculum.

Maths Mastery – has had requests from quite a few schools, who want to visit Arbory to see how Maths Mastery is progressing and how it works in the classroom. More resources have been purchased this year.
Moderation Maths/Reading – Arbory will be moderated in Maths straight after the Easter holidays, and later in the term will be moderated in Reading.

1. S.I.P.

The School Improvement Plan 2019 had been sent out with the Agenda.

advised that she had been on a training session yesterday. It was felt that in future the Governors should bring this Plan with them to every meeting. The first four School Improvement Priorities are the main focus of the school at the moment, the other ones are just for monitoring purposes. (Link Advisor) is very keen on meeting with the Governors to have more learning walks. and next meeting will look at one area of the plan which will be worked on.

1. SSRE.

An IOM Department of Education, Sport and Culture (Education Improvement Service) Note of Contact report had been sent out with the Agenda. and have looked at the Guidance and Support part of this document and agreed that the evidence seen, the best judgement for this section is ‘very effective’.
The School is aware of the needs of the pupils and is constantly looking at ways to develop and improve. advised that she is liaising with an Advisory Teacher to provide support in raising awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drugs to the Year 6 class.

1. Management.

Staffing – advised that the Ancillary Post has now been filled, however, has been off for a long time with her

DBS checks – All members of Staff have to have a DBS check, forms have to be submitted between April and May this year, staff have to subscribe to a 3 year update service costing each member £13 a year, the Department are paying for the initial checks. Finance – This has already been covered in the meeting. Plastics – Biosphere – this is in the S.I.P. and is on going, removing single use plastic in school. Education Bill – It was felt that the Governors should get together to respond to this bill. Concerns raised over No Education Council members, the 6 year rule for Governors, how will the Department appoint Governors in schools, Commissioners cannot be on the Governing Body of schools this will loose the school links with the local community. The RE advisory council will also be lost, they help with the curriculum and giving advice to teachers. The wording for the funding of SEN children needs comments on. The timescale for comments is also too short. It was

3 agreed that the Governors should read through this document and send any comments to to collate before the 8 March 2019.
Parent Pay – Parents will be able to pay online for school meals etc, this is expected to come in after the Easter holidays. Deferred entry – Parents can now enrol their child to start in September or they can now defer it to later on in the school year.
advised that no Parents have asked about this yet. Roadworks – Work is still being carried out at the junction with Friary Park. Parents have been concerned that the Buses are dropping their children off in the middle of the roadworks and not at the Bus Stop, has spoken about this with a bus driver today. Staffing – This has already been covered in the meeting. School Roll - This has already been covered in the meeting. Inclusion Policy – It was agreed to take this document away and the Governors to make comments on it and at the next meeting approve it. Ancillary Handbook – This was sent out with the Agenda for the Governors information.

1. Building.

The Year 2 classroom has been painted, tanked and a false wall put in. The hall roof has been fixed after it had been leaking, a fence has been erected in the school field, the hand drier in the toilets has been fixed, the boiler has been serviced. During the half-term break a fire inspector had been into school, the school failed its fire certificate as the emergency lighting was not working properly, someone from the Works Department has been in today to repair them. A white line has been painted in the car park to guide pedestrians into school.
has been chasing up the drainage in the school field with Works Department, they have advised him that the plans had been drawn up but had not progressed, however,

from Works has promised that work will be completed before the end of the financial year. The Heritage Garden is getting a new brick planter built at the moment. (School Caretaker) would be happy to show the Governors around school at a date to be set later.

1. Any other Business.

Future Events – A list had been sent out with the Agenda, all the Governors are welcome to attend any of the events Accident Book – signed the Accident Book, there were no major injuries reported. Manx Radio – advised that Manx Radio’s Women Today programme are organizing broadcasts from Village and Parish Halls this year, hopefully when they visit Arbory some of the children from school could be included, together with the school choir.

1. Date of the next meeting.

to meet with the Governors on the 15 May 2019 at 3pm. An inspection of the school buildings will take place, a date to be set at the May meeting. The meeting finished at 5.30pm.

Governors meeting - 9.30am, Tuesday 25th June 2019 Present: Parent Governor (Chairman)

   Headteacher

  Co-opted Governor

     Governor

 Education Council Member

Apologies: Teacher Governor

       Deputy Headteacher

    Governor

Minutes of previous meeting The minutes of the meeting held on the 22nd of January 2019 were approved and signed by Tour of the School Focussing on Environment for Learning. Shown new stage. Headteacher’s Report The Governors reviewed the written report. Attendance of Pupils on roll 246 on role. All children receiving full time education. Looked after children/Child protection There is one child fully integrated into school that has challenging but manageable behaviour. The child is on medication in Year . The correct strategies are in place.

on child protection plan another to be put on it in near future. with complex need plan now taken off. Continued work happening. waiting to hear back as to what is happening next. Parent support happening. Building and works New shower fitted in key stage 1 now fitted. School improvement plan Area 1: Reading New library, external moderation good results. Parish read was extremely successful. Reading has been a success story. Early indications from end of year data demonstrate a rise in levels. is happy to come and help with readers next academic year. Area 2: Maths Mastery 2 year cycle; this year is raising awareness. We have had staff training. Inset training is planned with White Rose maths team on the 24th & 25th Sept for staff. Majority of staff have trialled activities in their class. Area 3: ICT Staff meetings have been held where we have looked at resources. We have had iPads taken off us recently as they reached their shelf life.It’s the duty of dept to provide. We had 102, now have close to that. Lack of finances. is happy to come in, she is in charge of ICT Bemahague, she does whole staff training. Achievements Blessed with trips, sporting events, parents support by giving transport. TT tea very successful & Easter breakfast. £2,700 raised for Wallaby fund for Hospice. Events have been child led, there have been memorable experiences. The events and fundraising have been a credit to staff and children. Any other business Significant number coming in now that are not completely toilet trained. If toileting needs impinge on education then a problem but we need to try to deal with small incidences at school. open communication between nurseries and school as to toileting needs. 1. Child in year with issues , 1 child in with

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